Waldo

The Practical Polymath #56

Hi Friends, 

Greetings from Brooklyn! 

Last week, I got to catch up with one of my favorite online writers and friend Salman Ansari. We talked about our mutual love of New York City, the social dynamics of Zoom versus IRL encounters and the elusive pursuit of belonging when you have lived in different countries. I can’t think of a better feeling than making friends on Twitter and hanging out in real life.

Florian

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Ralph Waldo Emerson

🚣 Self-Reliance: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” is one of the greatest essays I’ve ever read. To better understand the context in which Emerson’s ideas emerged for his piece, I highly recommend listening to the latest episode of Philosophize This. In the 19th century, Americans were very much looking to Europe as a source of inspiration. Emerson urged them to come up with their own intellectual culture by looking inward.

💡 Earned Wisdom: Kevin Kelly turned 70 this week and decided to share 103 bits of advice he wish he'd known when he was younger. Here are my favorite three:

• "For a great payoff be especially curious about the things you are not interested in."

• "If your opinions on one subject can be predicted from your opinions on another, you may be in the grip of an ideology. When you truly think for yourself your conclusions will not be predictable."

• "Don’t wait in line to eat something famous. It is rarely worth the wait."

🧶 Wooly Barbecue: Andrea Love makes stop motion animation with wool. The level of detail is astounding. If you were to ask me what makes us human, I would say making a movie with asparagus, corn and sausages entirely made out of wool.

Lateral Thought

“For the less one desires and the more strictly one lives, the happier one is, because the way that leads to life is straight and narrow.” 

Augustine of Hippo